Pipebomb Chronicles: Macklemore Is The Embodiment of The Independent Hustle

 Attention independent artist! I got a story to tell about a rapper and his producer and their path to become the beacon of light in industry in a need of a change.

Seattle, Washington. 

The Emerald City. 

When it comes to music, we know of one man... the original soul brother Jimi Hendrix.

He dominated music with his psychedelic sound and infectious rhythms, which one producer I'm quoting saying, "he made love to the guitar and you wanted to watch like it was porn". He truly made it an experience.

It is now 2013, 13 years after the passing of the Voodoo Child, Seattle is back on the map with the help of Macklemore. I personally featured him after watching (or rather hearing) his greatness during a New York Knicks game back in 2012... the song, 2013's current radio hit, "Can't Hold Us".

But this 29 year old artist wasn't just some overnight sensation because of liberating music... or a song about second-hand clothing. Mack has been honing his craft for years cranking out music the average rap listener would never pay attention to.



Do you know about "Otherside"? Of course not. Macklemore does have history of substance abuse. For man like himself to share his story to others, he dropped this song off of his Vs. Redux EP, where he first hooked up with Ryan Lewis. It was emotion and heart poured into this song and made powerful music.



Ok, how about "My Oh My"? No? You should. It was a ode to Dave Niehaus, who sportsfans remember for famously saying "my, oh my" when Ken Griffey's Mariners beat up on every team that came to Safeco Field in Seattle. To honor him, Macklemore recorded this song and even performed it after Niehaus' passing at Safeco before Opening Day.

But, of course, the average rap fan knows about "Thrift Shop" and "Can't Hold Us", but do not understand the severity of impact this talented artist and his diverse producer has made and the trails they overcame to get there. And did I mention this was without a major label? Yeah, check the liner notes on Mack & Ryan's now critically acclaimed Gold album The Heist... it's released under Macklemore, LLC. Unheard of? In this time, yes, but not impossible. Both of these men have came together to one common cause, release good music and place themselves to be known in this over cluttered, over commercialized, and sometimes overhyped industry.

So, as my title says, Macklemore is the embodiment of the independent hustle. He inspires to continue the hustle myself, my companies Loyalty X Entertainment and Imperious Records, and keep pushing to succeed. Its the reason why I took the job here at Voiceless Music. Because if he can make it, so can I, and so can you.

Images from: Google.com, Craigslist.org; Videos from: Ryan Lewis' Official Youtube